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My favorite room right now is a new one in our house–not new structurally but newly imagined and slowly being developed. That is one of my favorite things about older homes–the idea that you can take a room that was initially designed for one purpose and reinvent it into something else. My friend, Suzanne, did that with her formal dining room. She had a typical long, 1950s formal living room and separate formal dining room. She moved her dining table (used twice a year, maybe) into one end of the living room and transformed her dining room into a home office. It’s brilliant and right off the kitchen, so it’s Home Central, which is nice.

My new favorite space is my Dressing Room. It started out as a guest room. It was kinda bland and barely used for guests, but it has two slider closets for some unknown reason. This space is also where I put on my make-up and do my hair in the morning. Our tiny powder pink bathroom doesn’t cut it for two getting ready so I bought this little desk at a garage sale and set myself up long ago.

I have gotten ready here for years.

So when it was time for our now three-year-old to give up his crib, I moved the Queen bed to his room. I then made MM go back to the urologist for a second “verification” that the Vasectomy worked, and I sold the crib on Craig’s List. With the bed gone from the room, I decided to take the room as ALL MINE.

I knew I’d need more hanging space, so I searched eBay and Craig’s List for something fun to use. I couldn’t find anything that would work and I really didn’t want to use a cheesy new chrome fixture, so I took a 30-minute drive to my favorite antiques store and this was the first thing I saw when I walked in. See, it was my density, I mean my destiny.

It's heavy-duty with a galvanized pipe that holds the hangers. I wish I had matching wood hangers, but someday . . .

My friend, Steve, thinks it’s an old coat rack custom-made for a church hall or something. At 6 feet long and 6 feet tall, it’s big and it took some work, but we got it into the room. At $75, the price was right. We actually spent more renting a pick-up to pick it up then we did on the actual piece–bugger.

Next I needed a place to put my discarded outfits when I can’t decide and am in too much of a hurry to hang them back up (which is a daily occurrence). An ottoman would be perfect–a beautiful round, skirted ottoman with tufted buttons and silk fabric–something feminine and glamorous. Something similar to this:

Nanette Lepore’s Eclectic Dressing Room Designed by Jonathan Adler.

I love this idea, but it’s not in my budget right now, so I started my search and found this baby on Craig’s list for $100.

It's not gorgeous yet, but it definitely had potential and the size is right on for the room.

And it’s awesome at 48 by 48 inches. I kind of wish it were round but I might look for a round rug to put under it. For now, I’m debating what to cover it with–a romantic, chintz slipcover with a pleated skirt and varying fabric (a custom job that could get pricey) or something more graphic (a juxtaposition of the floral motifs of my vintage trays on the wall) or maybe an animal print (a classic that, in my opinion, never goes out of style).

So stay tuned as this room unfolds. I envision curtains on one closet, new white doors with mirrors on the other closet (totally inspired by this post on The Lettered Cottage); pale pink shades on the chandelier and eventually some window mistreatments (name inspired by Nesting Place, although I’ve gotten pretty good at no-sew cornice boards myself).

So you newly constructed, and by newly I mean post-1980s, homes can have your walk-in closets. I have a dreamy dressing room set up to inspire my wardrobe and my style. And as for where my guests will sleep? A blow-up bed in the basement, Baby. It’s not as bad as it sounds (that’s where the flat-screen, the best shower and bar are). 🙂

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[…] here it is. By the end of May (some perfect cold-weather tasks), I would like to have my Dressing Room complete. I love this room. I spend a lot of time in it, but if I want to be featured on that last […]